Reach
by sassywriterchick
Summary: The dragon always knew he would find his Princess again—Nalu (Spoilers for the manga)


**This is based off the spoilers that were released****J**

When he first saw her on a hot summer day in June, a full year after he left, he didn't think it could possibly be _his_ Lucy. For one, her hair was longer. It swung in a ponytail by her waist, shining in the sunlight. She was talking animatedly to someone, her voice bright and bubbly. He had stopped, quite abruptly, in the middle of the square, his onyx eyes fixing on her curvy form.

He was alone; Happy had flown off to get some fish hours ago. Natsu hadn't gone along simply because he had been tired (for once in his life) and wanted to get a hotel room so he could get some well deserved sleep before he signed up to enter in the games later today.

The sight of her had stopped him in his tracks, and made his mouth fall slightly ajar in shock. He noticed the small bag she was rifling in, an unfamiliar little brown purse patterned with stars. She pulled out the objects she was looking for, a small notepad and pen.

The stunned moment passed, and he didn't even contemplate why she was here, where were the others, anything. He just wanted to get to her _as soon as possible_ and hug her very tightly, a feeling unfamiliar to him. He never had really wanted to hug anyone before.

"Luce!" he hollered, starting forward, his pack banging against his back. He saw her stiffen when he called her name, the words flowing from her mouth cut off, and her hands freeze as they prepared to write. "Lucy!"

She turned around then, her brown eyes wide and disbelieving, and at the sight of him the notepad and pen clattered to the ground. The person she had been talking to looked quite annoyed, and tapped her on the shoulder, but Lucy was already shaking them off. She started forward, and Natsu smiled a bigger smile then he thought was possible.

There were something's you don't just realize until they're gone. He and Happy both had realized how much Lucy had become apart of their lives. Natsu would look around for her in the middle of a fight, looking for her to have his back, or Happy would start a joke and end it abruptly, realizing that the only person who would get it was _gone._ Yet here she was, far from Magnolia, looking at him with something close to wonderment.

He stopped right in front of her, close enough that the scent of her was overwhelmingly present in his nose, that familiar scent that somehow canceled out anything else.

"Natsu?" she asked, her voice wobbling slightly. He grinned down at her, he had forgotten how much smaller then him she was, or maybe he had just gotten taller.

"It's me Luce," he said happily, and hopefully outstretched his arms, ready to give her a hug.

A flash of mixed emotions twisted over her face, and instead of stepping into his embrace like he planned—

"LUCY KICK!" she raised her leg and planted it right where you should never kick a guy. Even dragon slayers were vulnerable there. He let out a surprised oof, and fell to his knees. He didn't even have the breath to demand why the hell she would do such a thing before she flew at him again, but this time she did hug him.

They were both kneeling in the middle of a crowded street, and her arms were held tightly around his body, and for a brief moment he worried she would suffocate him. She didn't seem willing to let go, holding on like there was no tomorrow. He could practically feel other people's stares as Lucy clutched at him for dear life, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. It wasn't like he paid much attention to other people anyways.

Lucy was different though. He wasn't used to remembering other people, it had taken him weeks and weeks to remember Erza's name. As soon as he met Lucy, falling into that circle of crazed Fangirls, he had remembered everything about her. Her name, the way she smiled, the way she smelled, the way she laughed, every single last thing. He knew her birthday, even if he knew nobody else's. He knew her favorite color, her favorite food, her favorite book, and the foods she was allergic to… any Lucy trivia, you name it.

He pulled her closer when she seemed like she was about to pull away, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair.

"You idiot," she whispered into his shoulder. "You complete _fool_." He laughed, and she laughed too, a laugh that shook both their bodies.

"I'm sorry," he said, the words rolling around like marbles in his mouth, because he never said those words to anyone. Still, Erza said girls liked it when you apologized to them so…

"You better be," she said, pulling back slightly, and he saw her eyes were full of tears. "I missed you," she said, and he smiled.

"I missed you too."

...

Thoughts? Or just relative fangirling about the new chapters?


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